


After All

by Pen_Pearls



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27920233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pen_Pearls/pseuds/Pen_Pearls
Summary: What if Alice's Battle Vision actually happened? What would have become of the rest of them? One-shot. Set eight years after BD.
Relationships: Embry Call/Leah Clearwater, Jacob Black/Renesmee Cullen, Leah Clearwater/Sam Uley, Sam Uley/Emily Young, Sue Clearwater/Charlie Swan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 25





	After All

Charlie Swan is at his house when the shapeshifter finds him.

Time has carved new lines into his ageing face, and there's a decade of wear in the greying hairs, but the retired Police Chief still has steady hands. He gasps with the shock, his eyes wide, and pulls Jacob Black into his arms before the young man can even breath a word.

Jacob grins. He's just happy the only father figure he has left is no longer terrified of him. His heart warms when his nose detects another familiar smell; the scent of the rosewater, cinnamon and disinfectant that always belonged to a nurse. At least, Jacob thinks, At least Charlie and Sue found some kind of happiness after the worst of it.

'Jacob.' Charlie's deep voice could have been a diary for all the secrets it held. 'You're back.'

'Chief, you look well.'

Charlie's eyes take a round trip. 'Sue's got me on a diet.'

'Some things never change.'

Jacob grins but the old man's no longer looking at him. The cautious brown eyes are channeled to the sight behind the wolf, and Jacob knows what the man sees: A black car, one of Rosalie's flashy gifts, a thing so unnecessarily ostentatious it can only belong to a Cullen. But Charlie doesn't care about the damn thing. Doesn't even recognize that it's a rare Maserati. He only has eyes for the nervous young woman fidgeting impatiently and watching quietly from the passenger seat.

'That Nessie?' Charlie asks somewhere between fear and awe, as a wild burn builds in his throat.

'Yeah. She's nervous.'

'What's she got to be nervous for? Get over here kid!'

And in a split second Renesmeé's in her grandfather's arms, beaming with unrestrained excitement. The old man jumps in surprise and Jacob's about to pry the young woman out of his arms, but Charlie stops him with a look, pressing kiss to Nessie's head and laughing. 'I almost forgot you used to do that when Edwin wasn't watching.'

'Edward.' Jacob corrects.

'Be nice!' Nessie adds with a pointed finger at her grandfather, and for a moment she looks exactly as Bella once did.

Charlie looks from Jake to Nessie and the wolf can only guess what he's thinking; maybe that life is unkind and Bella is dead and yet some things will never change. Renesmeé still smells like wildflowers, and she's inherited her mother's eyes. The flawless grace, bronze hair and her perfect smile... those once belonged to Edward Cullen. So many questions Charlie must have, especially now his suspicions have been confirmed about Nessie's true parentage. Jacob knows it's time to answer them.

He searches his pocket for Bella's note. By now Sue's probably told the Police Chief everything she knew about what happened. But Bella still wanted to tell Charlie herself, explain all the other things that Charlie couldn't know for his own protection. All the things Sue didn't see. Jacob promises Bella, wherever her soul may be, that he'll be here to help Charlie make sense of the rest of it.

Renesmeé presses a warm hand to Charlie's cheek and his dark eyes fill with tears. She'll never tell Jacob what she shows him, and for many years afterwards the wolf will wonder what sweet memories she gave to her grandfather.

'I've missed you kid.' Charlie breathes and right then Jacob understands that for Charlie it's not just Renesmeé come home, it's Bella and Edward and the disappeared Cullens and all the other things lost to the horror of the last eight years or so.

'I've missed you too Charlie.' Nessie says. The warmth in her voice makes Jacob Black glad that they came to the Swan Residence first.

* * *

Sam's at La Push beach when a wolf howls in the woods.

Instinctively, his muscles tense at the Alpha's call and for a few seconds he wrestles with his own wolf. Eight years later and ignoring his shapeshifter blood is not any easier than it was before.

He takes a deep breath and the scent of salt water calms him. He senses the moodiness above, the pull in the clouds, and he knows a storm is coming. When he finally hears the ghost of a laugh in the wind, Sam knows it's time to leave.

Children are playing. Around him boys collect clams and little girls are digging for smooth grey rocks to paint pretty faces in. Sam remembers two such girls from simpler days, one staring in awe and the other ignoring him. She didn't even look his way until the year she turned fifteen, and even then she'd made him beg for it.

He makes his way to his red truck, knowing that the awed eyes will be waiting for him at the end of a long winding road. In Neah Bay something hearty will be cooking on the stove, Emily's predictably Makah that way, and his son will eagerly jump into his arms and remind him of the other lost boy he was named for. It's enough. The American Dream. He should be happy.

So why isn't he?

Sam is luckier than most. He had everything he needed to rebuild a life. To make a home. Embry never recovered from the wreck and ruin of the war, and Sue lost her entire family in the space of eight months. When he thinks of it that way the guilt, the grief and the never-ending nightmares almost don't seem like suffering.

But Sam can't ever get away from the memories. Always, there's the stubborn woman yelling at him in his mother's Buick. He keeps remembering how he dragged her out into the rain and silenced her fury with a kiss. She'd felt like thunder and tasted like rain and right then he'd decided that he was going to marry her; spend the rest of his life with her fists beating against his chest while he dragged his fingers through her long raven hair. That was the same night he'd caught a fever.

Go figure.

So Sam doesn't mind the haunting he can't escape. He can't live without the smell of rain or the soft laughter that still echoes round this rocky beach on cloudy days. Forever her spirit will stay in these winds, and that's why he and Emily will never leave.

When he smiles these days it's a wistful thing, nostalgic. It's selfish, he knows it is, but Sam is glad that death cannot separate Leah from him as life did.

* * *

Angela is at Emily's place when Jacob Black struts in.

Quil drops a plate, Emily screams and then suddenly Paul is laughing and Brady's crying and even little Seth is tugging at his mother's dress and asking who the long-haired man is. In all the chaos, Angela escapes to a quiet corner where she can observe the family affair without being noticed.

She doesn't know who stops yelling first or what makes the group notice the other person hiding behind the half-open door, but when she follows their eyes Angela forgets to breath for a moment. Standing there quietly is the most beautiful woman she's has ever seen. She has long bronze hair and curious brown eyes and suddenly Angela remembers her late best friend.

'Loch Ness?' Quil asks.

When the woman nods timidly the whole lot of them are ten times louder than they were before. With a squeal Emily wiggles out of Jacob's crushing hug and makes a run for the girl, wrapping her arms around the half-vampire without any hesitation.

'You look just like your mother.' She cries.

'Charlie says the same thing.'

Renesmeé blushes and then Paul says. 'You sound like her too.'

If the young woman is overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of noise and emotion she doesn't show it. She hangs onto the wolves' every word, eager to hear more about her mother and Jacob and thankful that the Quileute's treasure memories and stories with the same zeal as she does.

Jacob finds his way back to his Imprint, his arm resting protectively around her. 'What's cooking? I'm famished.'

Renesmeé sighs. 'You're always famished.'

'It's a wolf thing.' Brady offers.

Eventually, everyone settles in. Paul hops onto the kitchen counter as Brady finds a chair to lounge in, even Seth Junior wanders over to Angela's side, his small hand reaching up to grasp her fingers. Only Quil Ateara Junior remains standing, unwilling to leave the side of his prodigal best friend come home after years of hiding.

A heavy hush falls over Jacob and Angela sees his eyes take in the things that never healed: Brady's missing ear, Quil's severed arm and even Paul's prosthetic leg. There's a struggle in his face as he refuses to acknowledge the worst of the aching. She knows Jacob sees the four empty chairs.

Jared, Leah, Colin and Seth.

Them and the six other brothers who's names he never even had a chance to learn.

Emily begins setting up the table for two extra heads. 'When did you arrive?'

'Two days ago.' Jacob says distractedly. 'We would have been back sooner but Charlie and Sue wouldn't stop asking about the Cullens.'

Paul laughs. 'I bet. Talk about a disappearing act.'

'We see them a couple times a year. Esme, Rose and Emmett. They tracked us down to Brazil two years ago. I think the Amazonians caught my scent and sent them a message or something, but Esme won't tell me how they did it.'

'Probably tortured it out of a bloodsucker.' Paul tries in vain to drown the memory of Esme's vicious face when the Red Cloaks had burned her mate.

'Nah' Brady says. 'Obviously, they asked the psychic.'

'It wasn't aunt Alice... She's gone.' Renesmeé's voice breaks at the last word, and everyone grows quiet. Without another word, the wolves drop their shoulders as understanding dawns, and it's all they can do to show respect for their fallen ally. Losing someone else, even a bloodsucker, is a blow to them all.

'I'm so sorry Ness.' Emily says.

'It's okay. We should have expected it. Excuse me.' Renesmeé says, and then she's gone. Only the quiet click of the door serving as proof that she'd even been there at all.

Jacob sighs as his hand rubs the back of his neck. 'Alice ended it six years ago.'

Quil frowns. 'What do you mean ended it?'

'I think losing Edward, Bella, Carlisle and her mate was just too much for her. Esme says one day she just up and left. No note, nothing. Rose heard later from one of their "friends" that Alice found a way to end her existence. Nessie didn't take it so well, there wasn't anything left of Alice, and she wanted to bury the ash.'

Emily's hand darts up to cover her mouth. 'Poor thing. Oh Jacob go talk to her.'

The wolf shakes his head. 'Nessie needs her own space to process things. Like Rosalie. She'll say my name when she's ready.'

Paul shakes his head. 'She was always weird.'

'Yeah.' Jacob grins. 'But she's perfect.'

Paul rolls his eyes and Quil starts to sing _'Can You Feel The Love Tonight'_. By the time he's halfway through the chorus the other wolves have joined in and Jacob's shoving Quil. In the silence Paul steps in, and soon the grown men are running around Emily's small kitchen, dodging Jacob's hands and laughing like it's still the old days and nothing's changed.

Eventually Jacob notices Angela peering at the scene through oversized glasses. He grins. 'Alright, who dragged another girl into this mess?'

Brady shrugs. 'Don't look at me, I'm Imprint free.'

'Hi Jake.' She chuckles, sending him a small wave. 'I'm Angela. Bella's best friend.'

'Nope.' Jacob shakes his head. 'That's me.'

'Her broken hand disagreed.' Paul jeers and Angela smiles. She can only guess that this has something to do with the mystery of Bella's numerous injuries.

To Angela this world is absolutely crazy, and yet she loves every minute of it. She knows she never would have learned her friend's adventurous true-life story if she hadn't had a mysterious bout of nostalgia one Christmas afternoon, pulling her towards Charlie Swan's house. It had been his wife Sue who'd opened the door and then introduced her to her wolf.

'Let me try again. I'm Angela, Embry's Imprint.'

Jacob takes her in with an impressed grin, his dark eyes resting on her left hand where she knows he sees the golden ring. Angela shakes her head quickly, so there's no misunderstanding. 'Oh no, it's not like that with us. I'm married to a muggle. His name is Ben.'

Jacob sighs. Of course Embry's Imprint is married. Embry never fell in love with a woman unless she was off-limits, complicated and emotionally unavailable.

* * *

Renesmeé's outside Emily's house when a stranger offers her a handkerchief.

She hopes he'll go away. He doesn't. And then she's hoping he won't pry, ask her what's wrong or offer any useless words of apology. He doesn't move or say a word, just stands in the rain with her while her tears leave patches of red in her pale face. Somehow, it's exactly what she needs.

He smells wolfy. Familiar. And Renesmeé recalls another house, a fabulously glass thing surrounded by green trees and glittering beings. She can almost remember all the red-eyed friends always scattered around Carlisle's and Esme's old house. The Vampires had been everywhere; sitting on branches, on cars, on the floor and even on the roof, always looking like perfect marble statues.

The shapeshifters had been different. Louder definitely, but also messier, always angry. They were as mercurial as they were interdependent, and more difficult to separate than the vampires.

But there had always been two wolves in particular, both grey, that had always been a bit more isolated than the others, as though they never felt they belonged. In human form one had usually glared through long pretty lashes and the other had been reserved. As wolves they'd always played happily in the woods, completely content, a little apart from everyone and everything else.

'You're Leah's Embry.' Renesmeé remembers.

He smiles at that, but his eyes are still sad. 'And you're Jacob's Nessie.'

As she looks up at him, the downpour calms to a soft drizzle and she realizes that he's much taller than the other shifters. He's also bigger than she remembers. Though his face has not aged there's a sharpness there now that wasn't there before she and Jacob left.

Nessie knows he is Alpha. Sue mentioned that he took over for his older brother when Sam went into early retirement. Nessie can't help but think that the position suits him.

Embry looks around. 'Shouldn't Jacob be here to hold your hand or something?'

'Jacob always knows what I need.'

'Ah!' He shuts his eyes as if inspired. 'Imprint.'

She shakes her head. 'Not the Imprint. Just Jacob. Jacob just always knows what people need. Esme says it's a talent of his.'

A cloud brews in Embry's eyes and Nessie sees the pain in it. When he finally speaks, his voice is full of grief. 'That's because he's an Alpha. And an Alpha's main job is to take care of the needs of the other wolves, to watch over them and to protect the young from threat.'

So that's why he does it, Renesmeé thinks suddenly, wanting to reach out and comfort him this time though she knows it's not her place. Leah and Seth. As with Jacob, she knows Embry is haunted most by those two deaths. And more than that, maybe Embry was haunted by the loss of his best friend.

'So that's why you're taking care of me?'

He smiles proudly. 'Yes.'

'Jacob and the other wolves are very lucky.'

He rolls his eyes, vainly. 'I know.'

Renesmeé laughs before she sighs. 'I think… they would have been proud.'

Embry nods once as his eyes fill but he doesn't respond. Without knowing how or why, Renesmeé suddenly knows that Jacob and Embry's reunion will do them both a world of good.

The two turn as a red car eases into the driveway. Quickly, Sam steps out of the automobile, eyes wide with disbelief as he takes Renesmeé in. His eyes dart to the front door and Jacob steps out onto the front porch, followed by everyone else, grinning and waiting eagerly for Sam's response.

Jacob grins. 'So the old timer finally arrives. I was wondering when-'

But Sam's gripped Jacob before anyone even noticed him running. He catches Jacob in an embrace so strong the younger man doesn't even know how to respond. When Sam finally let's go, laughing is all anyone can do not to cry. Sam smiles, and Renesmeé realizes that he looks years younger than he did only moments before.

'It's good to see you Jake.' Sam says.

Jacob's hand finds the back of his neck, still nervous to be talking to Sam after everything that's happened between them. 'To be honest, after all the stress I gave you back then I wasn't expecting such a warm response.'

Sam makes a small clicking sound. 'Don't be an idiot. You're family Jacob. Welcome home.'

As little Seth jumps into Sam's arms, Jacob's eyes find Renesmeé's and they share a smile. She doesn't remember ever seeing him so happy.

'Baby,' Jacob starts. 'What would you say if I suggested moving back to Forks for a little while?'

The wolves go silent, and Renesmeé's feels the anticipation building as the people behind him wait for her response.

'What do you mean... a little while?'

Jacob grins. 'Oh I don't know... maybe a couple years or a couple decades... or more.'

She knows then that this is why her parents rallied unlikely allies and sacrificed their lives. So that she can have this. A real family and a real home. Brought together by tragic circumstances and still together even after all of it.

Nessie smiles, and her hand rubs protectively over her stomach. 'I think the baby and I are going to love it here very much.'

 _Leah Belle Black_ , she doesn't say, because even though Sue cried yes, she knows she and Jacob will still have to ask Embry first.

The wolves erupt in yells and claps and the merry sounds of congratulations. And then Jacob scoops her up in his arms, kisses her happily before briefly letting her go so he can shake hands with his lost best friends.

Renesmeé's crying again but it's tears of happiness this time. And this rainy day reminds her of her happy childhood, of memories lost to war that she can recover again, and even the new memories she can now make with Jake. This is love, she realizes, understanding why her mother traded in the heat of Phoenix for the rain. Love feels like coming back home.


End file.
